


The Lords of Dust

by reptilia28



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Creation Myth, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:41:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25461847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reptilia28/pseuds/reptilia28
Summary: In the beginning, there was only dust.
Kudos: 4





	The Lords of Dust

In the beginning there was only dust floating throughout the ether. Some of this dust gathered together and formed a great titan. With a great gasp the titan awoke, and her name was Atwe, the Great Mother.

Atwe did not like the dust that floated around her like a haze, so she gathered it together and molded it. With the dust she made the land and the seas and all the stars in the sky, and looked on in pride at all that she had created. But she was also lonely, for she had no one to share this splendor with. But she had no more dust with which to create another like her, so she tore from her own flesh and molded it into many forms. But with each child born Atwe grew weaker, until her death was inevitable. So she gathered all her children around her to speak to them one last time.

“Children,” she said, “soon the time shall come where I shall return to the dust that birthed me. With the last of my strength, I shall give you the power to breathe life into the dust as I once did for you.” With her final words, Atwe succumbed to death, her body returning to the ether.

With their new power, Atwe’s children created life to inhabit the world that their mother had created. From the earth and the water was born all the plants and animals to walk the earth, swim in the seas, and soar in the skies. But they too were lonely, for they grew weary of each others’ constant presence, and longed for children of their own. But they did not desire to die as their mother did, so they molded their children from the world around them.

Alei, the first and strongest of the siblings, gathered the strongest rays of light together and swaddled them in a cloak of his own feathers. He said to it, “Awaken, my child and spread forth across the skies. My blessing to you shall be power as bright and brilliant as the sun. Awaken and kneel before me as the Lord of Skies!” As he cried out with a mighty crow, the feathers parted. Thus was born the Alei’kin, the angels.

Elfi, the second of the siblings, plucked an acorn from the tallest tree and planted it into the ground. With one drop of her tears, the acorn sprouted. With another drop, the sprout became a sapling. With a sharpened rock, she carved the sapling into a being of her own image, graceful and fair. She said to it, “Awaken, my child and spread forth across the woods. My blessing to you shall be a life as long and enduring as the mightiest oak. Awaken and kneel before me as the Lady of Forests!” With a third drop of her tears, the carving sprung to life. Thus was born the Elfi’kin, the elves.

D’vai, the third of the siblings, ripped a great block of stone from the heart of the tallest mountain and hewed it into a form in his own image. He said, “Awaken, my child and spread forth across the rocks. My blessing to you shall be strength as tough and resolute as the mountains. Awaken and kneel before me as the Lord of Stone!” With a mighty yell he struck the sculpture and it sprung to life. Thus was born the D’vai’kin, the dwarves.

One by one Atwe’s children created beings to love and worship them, each claiming lord and ladyship of the plains, the seas, the tundras, and every domain in between, until only one was left. Huam, the last child of Atwe, unlike her siblings, was a weak and frail being.

Being the last, there were no more realms to claim lordship over, and no choice materials for Huam to fashion her children from. All she had were the scraps left behind by her siblings: the dried deadwood, the crushed gravel, the clouded ice, the bitter ash. Her siblings laughed and wondered what she would create from the trash she had.

She ground and crushed the debris she had into a fine powder and mixed it together. With a splash of her tears, a wad of her spittle, and a drop of her blood, she made a mortar and began to mold her child in her own image. Like her the creation was weak and fragile, the many disparate parts barely holding together. As her siblings laughed at such a pitiful creation, she whispered to it, “Awaken, my child, and spread forth. Forgive me, for I have no great gifts to bestow you, nor lands for you to rule over. All I have to give is a fragment of the strength of all who came before you, and the will to rise higher than any of them. Awaken and stand with me as the Lords of Dust.” With a tender kiss, the creation sprung to life. Thus was born the Huam’kin, the humans.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published on Reddit at r/hfy on November 12, 2015.


End file.
